


Red

by blynninja



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other, Soulmate AU, hak thinks about stuff, yona and her dragons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-04 21:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11563587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blynninja/pseuds/blynninja
Summary: Hak ponders Yona's many soul markings and what it all means.





	Red

**Author's Note:**

> Title subject to change.  
> This has been sitting in my drafts for over six months and it might turn into more than a one-shot but for now this is what I have and I want it out of my drafts.

Hak isn’t stupid.

He knows what the symbols on the Princess’s skin mean.

They’ve been there for as long as he can remember, since they were kids.

Hak had memorized each of them, though he wasn’t certain what each meant, or why the Princess had four when anyone else he knew only had one.

The healers and King Il had murmured about it once, when they were young, but Hak hadn’t heard or believed it.

Not until they sit listening to Ik-soo’s claims that the Four Dragons from Kouka’s old creation story are real.

Not until the white claw marks on Yona’s arm begin to glow when they meet Kija. 

Not until the tiny blue crescent moon near her eye glows when they bring Shin-ah with them into the sunlight.

Not until the green wings on her leg glow when she meets Jae-ha and they confirm he’s the Green Dragon.

By the time Zeno shows up and the yellow circle on Yona’s collarbone glows, Hak knows.

Each of the Dragons have a red sword permanently etched on their bodies, and Hak knows that means Yona.

Yun doesn’t have one, and Yona doesn’t have any book or medicine-like symbols on her anywhere, but Yun stays with them anyway, loyal to a fault.

And Hak tries to ignore and deny and hide the red arrow that showed up over his heart after he and Yona had left Fuuga. He prays to whatever god is listening that she doesn’t know it exists, because that would make things even more awkward.

He refuses to admit to anyone, even himself, that the arrow on his flesh pulsed and burned when Yona defeated Kum-ji in Awa.

She doesn’t have his symbol, he’s certain of it, so why assume they’re meant to be anything but master and servant?

Until the day he glimpses the blue spear on Yona’s back and his blood freezes in his veins.

How long has it been there? How has he not noticed it before?

Why has Yona never said anything?

Surely she has to know what it means, especially after having four already.

But that’s probably the thing, Hak realizes.

She probably assumes that his mark is just like the others’, that they’re fated to travel together and save the kingdom together, or whatever it is she believes about her Dragon markings.

But Hak knows differently.

Hak knows that he’s not a Dragon of legend.

He knows his connection to Yona is different from one of destiny’s bond.

Because by now he knows that she’s Hiryuu reincarnate, that she and the Dragons are meant to restore the kingdom to its former glory, or something. He’s still not entirely sure of their mission, but he knows the gist.

Hak isn’t like that.

Hak is a childhood friend, a protector.

Hak is not a Dragon, despite the jokes.

Hak is not someone reincarnated to take on a new mission, he’s just… him.

Just a regular guy from a regular village with no real history to speak of and, until recently, no belief in what some would call fate or destiny.

But maybe that means their soul mate bond is different, somehow.

The symbols on Yona’s skin have been there all her life, and the Dragons told him they’ve always had the red swords.

But Hak’s arrow had shown up later in life, as had the spear on Yona’s back, presumably.

That has to mean something.

All the stories he’s ever heard of soul mates say the marks are there from childhood, that rarely do people ever find new marks in their teenage or adult years.

Hak clings, selfishly, to the idea that this means their bond is something different.

He doesn’t let Yona know, of course, but the Dragons begin to look at him differently.

Jae-ha is annoyingly perceptive and tries to sneak the topic into every conversation he ever has with Hak.

He catches Shin-ah turning in his direction a lot, and something about the Blue Dragon’s posture makes Hak think he knows.

Yun, ever the observer, raises an eyebrow once in a while but never talks about it, which Hak appreciates.

Kija, thankfully, doesn’t catch on as quickly, but eventually something clicks and it takes a little while to get him to shut up so Yona doesn’t hear.

And Zeno… Well, the Yellow Dragon has been around forever, so Hak really isn’t surprised when Zeno pulls him aside one day and asks about it.

Zeno’s only seen a few cases, in all his many years, of soul mates getting their marks later in life.

Hak’s heart leaps, but Zeno’s face turns serious and he warns Hak that things may not go the way he hopes, that the only case he knows of in which childhood friends gained soul marks late in life almost ripped their friendship apart.

Hak wants to argue that his bond with Yona is different, but Zeno’s tale makes sense: Yona has had the Dragons’ marks her whole life, has had time to get used to the idea of four of them and imagine what her soul mates would be like.

Gaining a mark later in life might be confusing and scary for her, even if she recognizes that it’s Hak’s. Maybe even _because_ it’s his mark, because she doesn’t want to jeopardize their friendship.

So Hak waits, tamping down the thoughts that insist he speak to her about it.

For months he waits, impatient and twitchy more often than not, and trying and failing to hide it from the Dragons.

He waits until the day that he finally works up the courage to kiss his princess before heading into battle, clutching her fingers between his, over the arrow that pulses and burns every time Yona does something courageous or queen-like.

She doesn’t understand the gesture, not right away, but he figures she will eventually, especially after he traces the exact pattern of the spear on her back before he releases her to face their enemies.

He doesn’t even wait to see her reaction, just throws himself into the fray and prays that she stays safe.


End file.
